The World Bank has approved a $455 million loan to Tanzania under its International Development Assistance (IDA) programme to support financing of power projects in the East African nation. The financing from IDA, which gives grants or low-interest loans to the world’s poorest countries, will also fund construction of high voltage transmission infrastructure to connect Tanzania to regional power markets in southern and eastern Africa. “The $455 million credit will finance construction of critical high voltage transmission infrastructure that will support the electrification of the southern and northwestern regions of Tanzania,” the World Bank said in a statement on Thursday. The government said it plans to raise 2 trillion Tanzanian shillings ($880 million) in its budget for fiscal year 2018/19 (July-June) from concessional loans and grants to finance development projects. Tanzania boasts reserves of over 57 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, but faces periodic power shortages as it relies on hydro-power dams in a drought-prone region.

ate utility Eskom has signed the last of 27 long-delayed power purchase agreements (PPAs), according to energy minister Jeff Radebe. The contracts cover 2.3GW of renewable energy projects, with wind accounting for 1.4GW of this total. Developers had won allocations in tenders carried out under South Africa’s renewables procurement plan (REIPP) in April 2015. But Eskom delayed signing the power deals, citing overcapacity resulting from the country’s economic downturn and slumping energy demand.Critics, however, suspected the regulator was reserving capacity for coal and nuclear companies.

Scatec Solar, KLP Norfund Investments and Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM) have closed debt financing and initiated construction of a 40 MW solar plant in Mozambique. The project debt financing is provided by IFC, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund.

At its 19th Board Meeting in Songdo, South Korea, the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved the first funding proposal of the African Development Bank for Zambia’s Renewable Energy Financing Framework. The GCF will provide a US$ 50 million loan and a US$ 2.5 million grant